38162: Is there a difference in the way men and women prostrate?

Is there a difference in the way men and women prostrate?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Some of the scholars are of the view that men and woman
should pray differently, and they quote a number of ahaadeeth as evidence
for that, but these are all da’eef (weak) and cannot be taken as evidence.

But the correct view is that there is no difference in the
way men and women pray.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen said, refuting the view of the
fuqaha’ that “women should not spread their arms out, rather they should
keep them close to their sides and when they prostrate they should press
their stomachs to their thighs and their thighs to their calves… because
they should conceal themselves, and compressing themselves is more
concealing than spreading out.” Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said:

This may be answered in several ways:

1 – This reason cannot stand up against the general meaning
of the texts which indicate that women are like men with regard to rulings,
especially since the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “Pray as you have seen me praying,” and this is addressed in
general terms, including both men and women.

2 – This reason is redundant because usually, as is
prescribed, women pray alone in their houses with no men present. In that
case there is no need for them to compress themselves, so long as no men can
see them.

3 – You say that she raises her hands, and raising the hands
is more likely to uncover than spreading the arms when prostrating. But
despite that you say that it is Sunnah for her to raise her hands, because
the basic principle is that the rulings apply equally to men and women.

The correct view is:

Women should do the same
things that men do in the prayer, so they should raise their hands and
spread their arms out when prostrating, and make their backs level when
bowing and lift their stomachs up off their thighs, and their thighs up off
their calves, when prostrating… they should sit on the left foot with the
right foot held upright when sitting between the two prostrations and in the
first tashahhud. In the last tashahhud of the prayer there is only one
tashahhud, and they should sit mutawarrikan (with the left upper thigh on
the ground and both feet protruding from one (the right) side) during the
final tashahhud of three- and four-rak’ah prayers.

There are no exceptions for women in any of these matters.

Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 3/304, 303

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, at the
end of his book Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) (The Prophet’s Prayer Described):

“All that has been mentioned of the description of the
Prophet's prayer (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) applies
equally to men and women, for there is nothing in the Sunnah to necessitate
the exception of women from any of these descriptions; in fact, the
generality of his statement (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), ‘Pray as you have seen me praying’, includes women”

If we assume that a woman is praying in a public place where men may see her, such as in the Haram in Makkah, or in a park – if she has to pray there – then she should be careful with regard to every action that may lead to uncovering any part of her, and take extra precautions in this case. And Allaah knows best.